tulips etc
Kathleen Sayce (Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:46:19 PST)

Most of the Tulipa sylvestris bulbs I planted last year are about to
come into bloom again, with signs of offsets forming around the
original bulbs. The flowers are not yet open, but are fully colored.
Also, a dozen T. clusiana in a patch nearby have tripled over the
past few years, even tossing seeds out into the nearby lawn, which
have now formed bulbs with leaves more than five inches long. No
signs of buds above the leaves yet.

The surprise in my garden is an Eremerus , which is apparently
putting up a new shoot. I thought they all died last year, local
weather being simply too wet for them. I planted 3 tubers 2 years
back, watched two of them rot apart last spring, and assumed the
third didn't even sprout. So here it is, 3 inches tall. It's fate is
probably the same as the others; time will tell.

Several Camassia leichtlinii are already in flower, much shorter
stalks than usual, and much earlier than usual.

All three Crinum x powellii have pulled through the winter yet again
(10F this time) and are sending up new leaves. Would people tell me
about other hardy crinums? I've killed the next 5 that I've tried to
grow, mostly due to cold wet winters and young plants, so next time I
am prepared to pot the bulbs for a few years and let them get some
size on them, and some winter shelter, before inflicting a Pacific
Northwest winter on them in the open garden. Meanwhile, I have more
than a dozen offshoots about the base of each original bulb, so if
people are interested in offshoots of these, I will dig a few up for
the BX.

Kathleen
SW Washington coast, cloudy, balmy 55F and no rain